Sunday, June 26, 2016

This
is a bizarre story. I don't expect anyone to believe it, and I'm not
sure I believe it myself. But I will relay the facts of which I am
certain, and the readers may decide for themselves.

Certain
names have been changed to protect the (possibly) innocent persons
involved.

The
conspiracy theory of the story is this: My feline companion, Kyra,
was wired and used unwittingly as a spy.

I
have told this story to only a few friends over the years. Some
laughed, and some (usually former government agents) believed my
conspiracy theory might actually be true.

The
year was 2000. I was living at that time in Woodstock, NY, where I
had moved in 1997, after having spent 2 miserable years in 'motel
hell', with all my possessions in storage, a result of the
government's efforts against me to destabilize my life. Through their
machinations, I was driven from place to place to place, forced to
move house repeatedly due to the circumstances they engineered.

I
had a small cozy house at the base of a mountain (Catskills), where I
lived for 6 years, before relocating to Maine in 2003.

At
that time I had 8 cats. It was a rural area, on a country back road
with little traffic, so I allowed my darlings to roam free outside.

I
had a friend who lived in another state, a scientist and
UFO/paranormal investigator with whom I worked from time to time in
field investigations of UFOs and related phenomena, most especially
in Pine Bush, NY (a hotbed of UFO activity) and surrounding areas.

I'll
call my friend 'Boris'. Boris himself had quite a few cats. But
apparently his wife wasn't a cat lover. One day, in a telephone
conversation, Boris told me that his wife had threatened to “get
rid of” (what a horrible phrase, which I've heard many times from
insensitive persons!) some of his cats, specifically some kittens
recently born.

Outraged,
I said to him, You tell your wife that unless good homes are found
for every single one of those cats, she will have to deal with me.
And I know where you live!

Then,
one day a few months later (it was May, 2000) Boris came to visit me
in Woodstock. Our plan was to go to Pine Bush, not far from where I
lived.

Boris
came into the house and I offered him something to drink. After half
an hour, discussing our plans for the investigation, we had finished
our tea, and he said to me, Come out to the van with me, I want to
show you something. I thought maybe it was some new high- tech gear
for the investigation. I was wrong.

He
slid open the side panel of the van. There, nesting on a blanket, was
a small cat. Boris said to me, I brought a little visitor.

What
do you mean, “a little visitor”? I already have 8 cats!

He
said maybe I could take her on a “trial basis” (how many times
had I heard that one?). This way, she would not be dumped off at a
shelter. Well, of course, it was emotional blackmail. It had happened
many times. Every time someone wanted to “get rid of” a cat, they
would come to me. I could never say no, that was the problem. But I
never once regretted adopting any one of them.

Boris
assured me that he would pay all her medical bills and pay “child
support” for food and other necessities.

So,
it was a done deal. I told him to bring her into the house. I placed
her in a bedroom, with food, water and a litter box, so she would be
separated from the other cats. Cats are territorial, I have found,
much more so than dogs. Dogs can make new friends in the blink of an
eye. Cats are far more discerning, but once they love someone (animal
or human), they can be just as loyal.

But
there was one “condition” to which Boris tried to get me to
agree, which I found rather strange. He told me he did not want me to
have her spayed. He said it was because Kyra came from a bloodline
which he hoped would continue. He had her grandmother and her mother.

I
said, Well, I can't promise you that I won't have her spayed. It
would be irresponsible, and I can't afford to care for any more cats.
But I let the matter drop, for the moment.

Kyra
was 5 months old when she was dropped off as “the little visitor”.
And she stayed with me for more than 15 years, when she passed away
in 2015.

As
it happened, the “child support” never materialized. It took all
my resources just to pay the rent and bills. As for the cats, I
usually had to beg or borrow to support them, especially if there was
a medical emergency. So I never did get around to having Kyra spayed.

Once
she got acclimated, once she made friends with the other cats (aside
from some of the battles, where I had to break up the cat fights, and
Kyra was one of the most fierce warriors I've ever known), I knew it
would be unfair to keep her in the house, while all the others were
going outside.

It
wasn't long before Kyra went into heat. She roamed the neighborhood,
and I'm sure she had many suitors (to put it delicately). But after
3 years in Woodstock, she hadn't got pregnant, for which I thanked my
lucky stars.

I
moved to Maine in 2003. This was a beach house near the ocean, and
not a rural area. But the cats were used to going outside, and it
would have been an exercise in futility trying to keep them inside
the house. So, I let them out and never had any problems. Except one.
That being Kyra. All the other cats had been spayed/neutered years
ago.

The
problem developed when Kyra roamed through the streets, yowling, and
the neighbors started to complain. Some were of the mind that cats
should never be let outside (they are entitled to their opinions),
and some just said they couldn't take the noise. I heard it myself,
it was certainly loud enough to disturb the peace.

So,
finally, I decided that Kyra would simply have to be spayed. Oddly,
she still had never got pregnant, despite her numerous boyfriends in
both neighborhoods. By this time it had been 5 years, so I wondered,
what was up with that?

I
took her to a local veterinary clinic. They performed the operation.
But something strange was reported to me by the vet. She told me that
she found a “foreign object” in Kyra. She had no idea what it
was, nor how it had come to be there. When she asked me if Kyra had
had any surgery before this, I told her, No, not to my knowledge.

The
vet too, thought it strange that Kyra had been roaming free for 5
years, but never got pregnant. But she also explained that the
implanted foreign object would have prevented such an occurrence.

So,
I started to think about all this, seeking some reasonable
explanation. I thought about how Boris tried to dissuade me from
having Kyra spayed. I certainly knew that CIA had all the technology
to implant an animal. Hell, they'd done it to me, so why not my cat?

Around
the same time period, my friend Kathy Kasten (a mutual acquaintance
of mine and Boris's) came to visit me in Maine. I told her the story
of Kyra, in fact she met Kyra while staying at my house.

She
later sent me this story.

CIA
Wired Cat Project

Another
early example of remote-controlling an animal is the AcousticKitty
program from the 1960s. In this project, a cat was surgicallywired
up to serve as a listening device. An original document on
theproject can be found at the National Security Archive.

In
one experiment during the Cold War, a cat, dubbed "Acoustic
Kitty,"was wired up for use as an eavesdropping
platform.

It was hoped that the animal, which was surgically
altered toaccommodate transmitting and control devices, could
listen to secretconversations from window sills, park benches or
dustbins.

Victor Marchetti, a former CIA officer, said that
Project AcousticKitty was a gruesome creation.

"They
slit the cat open, put batteries in him, wired him up. The tailwas
used as an antenna. They made a monstrosity. They tested him
andtested him. They found he would walk off the job when he got
hungry,so they put another wire in to override that,'' he
said.

Marchetti said that the first live trial was an
expensivedisaster. The technology is thought to have cost more
than $14million.

He said: "They took it out to a park
and put him out of the van,and a taxi comes and runs him over.
There they were, sitting in thevan with all those dials, and the
cat was dead.''

The document, which was one of 40 to be
declassified from the CIA'sclosely guarded Science and Technology
Directorate, where spyingtechniques are refined, is still partly
censored.

This implies that the CIA was embarrassed about
disclosing all thedetails of Acoustic Kitty, which took five
years to design.

The memo ends by congratulating the team who
worked on the AcousticKitty project for its hard work.

It
says: "The work done on this problem over the years reflects
greatcredit on the personnel who guided it . . . whose energy
andimagination could be models for scientific pioneers.''

By
coincidence, in 1966, a British film called "Spy With a Cold
Nose"featured a dog wired up to eavesdrop on the
Russians.

It was the same year as the Acoustic Kitty was
tested.

Sunday Telegraph

Kyra (center) & Family at her previous home

As
for Boris, I lost contact with him when I moved to Maine. I don't
want to accuse him of being complicit in the implantation of a
foreign object in my cat. But still...considering the whole thing, I
find it suspicious.

I
guess I'll never know for sure what actually happened. Was Kyra the
spy cat planted on me?

All
these years later, I can only say that even were this true, the
people who did this ended up giving me one of the greatest blessings
of my life in the person of Kyra.

So
I can only thank them, regardless of their motives.

Kyra
gave me 15 years of love, joy and comfort. I was privileged to know
her and to be her grandmother and friend.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

This
letter from a listener was forwarded to me in 2012 by a friend who
interviewed me on her radio show. I hadn't read it until recently,
when I found it while cleaning out my files.

I
have chosen not to name the radio host, or the sender of the letter
(whom I do not know). The content is what I think may be of interest
to my readers, because I find it typical of some of the questions
frequently asked and the opinions often stated, specifically as
regards counterintelligence campaigns by government agencies against
political Targets.

If
nothing else, I see it as an opportunity to set the record straight,
to address the unwarranted assumptions and speculation in which so
many people engage, to counter it with the truth and the facts.

As
always, I speak strictly for myself and I base my response on many
years of personal and professional experience and direct knowledge of
the issues gained from my own investigations. Counterintelligence
operations are one of the areas of my expertise, and they are far
more complex and multi-faceted than is understood by most people.

I
should state up front that the general issue of counterintelligence
campaigns is one of the most important to me because of the massive
damages done to any high-profile Target (including me) who finds
himself/herself in the cross-hairs of a tyrannical government
operation, as well as “collateral damage” (as the perps would
call it) to family, friends and colleagues. Nobody who is associated
with the Target escapes unscathed. For this reason, the Target is
most often abandoned and/or betrayed by the people closest to him/her
and left to stand alone against the onslaught of persecution. Which
is, of course, one of the primary objectives of the perpetrators.

The
persons targeted for such a neutralization campaign are most often
survivors of government intelligence operations (CIA, FBI, DOD, DIA,
Military Intel etc.) Some Targets are journalists (professionals, not
amateur “bloggers”). But whomever they may be, they are in
possession of factual, accurate information about government crimes,
conspiracies and coverups. They possess material evidence and
documentation. And they intend to use it to further the interests of
justice. They are activists and dissidents and often considered
'enemies of the state'.

Here
is the note from my friend, the host of the radio program. It is
followed by the letter from the listener, and then my response.

Hi
Barbara,

Below is an email we received from one of our
supporters. He has some questions regarding the benefits that these
unpaid stooges have.

We
know Tim White is working on a "get out of jail free card."
Same with Brendan Fahey.

[Note:
Todd Brendan Fahey, to my knowledge, is not on any “get-out-of-jail
free” card, although he certainly is a criminal. He's a CIA-wannabe
who engages in blackmail, forgery, identity theft, stalking, and is
one of the government minions who engages in criminal harassment
against Targets.]

But
what would be your answer to him be for stooges like Ott and Studer?
What is in it for them?

I
am sure it is a question many will want to know.

[Note:
The letter is an exact copy. No corrections in spelling, etc. have
been made. I have only separated the letter into paragraphs for
easier reading.]

“Hey,
so I just listened to about 3/4 of the show with Barbara Hartwell
that you and X interviewed and I thought it was over all pretty good.
I'm not done listening to it yet. But i kind of disagree with a few
thing's Barbara had to say. One of the biggest things I disagreed
with was when she said that people like Timothy Patrick White and
Dr.True ott are not getting paid for the disinformation - Libel and
harassment that they're dishing out quite frequently and that there
for they are not truly part of CIONTELPRO engineers'?

I
don't think that's completely correct, i think these guys are all the
payroll and most likely making a lot of money for doing what they are
doing- there is a science behind how they are doing it as well, they
are certainly not your every day liars off the street. And that these
guys are in a tightly nit large circle working intimately together
with the guys that are taking center stage like Gunderson and Hilder
and Alex Jones ect!! One of the main reason why these guys are
suddenly so nasty and baring the true teeth, is because they know now
that you know who they really are! And therefore can risk taking
their disguise's off now and start the true attack on you instead of
trying to befriend you most deceptively like they did from the start
with X!

Although
I fully agree with Barbara that these guys are - when it boils right
down to it that is, just a bunch of pathetic stooge's, - that is only
when they take off there disguise do we actually see that! These guys
are very well trained at what they do and have an exact science on
how to do it! That is why so many people including some very well
educated people do not figure out what is going on and who is
trustable and who is not. That's a big part of the reason why we are
finding ourselves in the mess that we are in. Now that said I'm sure
that there are many people who have gotten sucked into the CIA church
of set and that are not on the payroll, I just don't believe the kind
of people you and X are have to deal with right now are just a bunch
of brock no money in there pockets nobodies that are trying to put X
out of business. No from what I've read these guys are professional
highly trained and are on the payroll, and are very much a complete
part of COINTELPRO!!

Now
Barbara mention COINTELPRO'S end goal which is the absolute
destruction of the group, but she really didn't take anytime to
explain how they accomplish this goal.. I know the complete
destruction is the ultimate goal but how do they go about reaching
it?? But I guess she only had so much time and probably wanted to cut
to the chase instead of beating around the bush! The thing I felt
like I would add here is maybe a few of these guys a manchurian
candidates.. Anyway I did like the rest of barbara had to say, I just
slightly suspicious when she said these guys are not on the payroll
and there for are just a bunch of nut jobs.. I don't believe that's
correct, I thought seeing how she her self is an ex-member of the
group that she would be a little more knowledgeable in this area!!

But
there is no way Gunderson would've wanted Barbra to work with Ott, if
Ott was a true part of the COINTELPRO team!!! I do believe that they
are much more expendable then the guys controlling the information on
center stage. That's my sincere opinion ..Bye for now

P.S
I'm not saying I think Barbara was lying about anything she was say,
it just sounded to me like she was so irate and irritated with the
whole group of COINTELPRO misfits that she would perhaps not want to
believe that these psychos actaully get paid money to do what they
do???”

RESPONSE
FROM BARBARA HARTWELL

The
statements from the listener are in quotes. My comments follow.

“But
i kind of disagree with a few thing's Barbara had to say. One of the
biggest things I disagreed with was when she said that people like
Timothy Patrick White and Dr.True ott are not getting paid for the
disinformation - Libel and harassment that they're dishing out quite
frequently and that there for they are not truly part of CIONTELPRO
engineers'?”

First
of all, you would need to have a basic working knowledge of these
operations before you could reach any accurate conclusions, such that
you could “disagree” with the information I presented on the
program. Though he is free to state his opinions, this individual
lacks such knowledge.

Timothy
Patrick White and “True” Ott (aka Alma Ott), both of whom were
addressed on the program (inter alia), as perpetrators involved in
the campaigns against Targets, are not in the same category,
according to my standards, nor did I state any such thing. This
appears to be an assumption on the part of the listener.

I'll
start with Timothy Patrick White aka Tim White. Tim White is a career
criminal/predicate felon. In 2001, he made a deal with corrupt feds
when he was convicted on charges of drug trafficking. He became a fed
snitch in exchange for early release from prison. He was sentenced to
4 years but only served 5 months, when he was set loose to wreak
havoc and destruction. (Which continues unabated to this day.)

(I
have some of the court documents in my possession, including police
reports.)

The
feds provided Tim White with a list of Targets, mostly former intelligence/military personnel and tasked him with
harassing, stalking, threatening them. Tim White is a public menace
who has done tremendous harm to numerous individuals targeted by the
U.S. Government. I should know. He began his criminal harassment
against me in 2001, and fifteen years later he is still at it.

(See
numerous reports on this site for the gory details of Tim White's
crime sprees against Barbara Hartwell and other Targets.)

But
Tim White is not the “engineer” of these operations; far from it,
he is only one of the lowly minions who is exploited by government
agents to do their dirty work. This distinction is important and
unfortunately not understood by most people who are only starting to
learn about these operations.

Then,
there are the defamation campaigns run against Targets. The
government minions, such as Tim White, are furnished with specific
false information about a given Target and directed to spread the
lies far and wide, through any venues available to them, for the
purpose of discrediting the Target in the eyes of the general public.
For example, the government stooges have been told by the agents
running these operations that Barbara Hartwell is a “CIA Disinfo
Agent”. This outrageous lie has been disseminated far and wide for
more than two decades (even before Tim White came into the picture).

In
the case of Tim White, there is another issue. White is a sex
pervert/predator, including targeting children. When he was arrested
on the drug charge, the cops found child pornography in White's
possession, a felony crime for which White was never charged. Why? So
that the feds had something to hold over his head. So they could use
him to do their bidding. They don't need to “pay” him; they know
that he will be compliant with their directives to save his own neck.
He is “just following orders”. He is certainly not one of the
architects of the plot.

Tim
White (like many other stooges) is a quisling, a lackey of the
tyrants who have corrupted and overthrown the government, that is,
the Constitutional Republic, from within. But typically, Tim White
claims to be a “patriot”. He also touts himself as a “Concerned
Citizen”, and has fabricated a set of titles and credentials he
does not possess, such as “Investigator” and “Whistleblower”
(with which he signs all his posts), in attempts to make himself
appear to be “important”. In actuality, Tim White is uneducated
and has no background or training whatsoever in any field, nor any sort of
intelligence work.

As
for “True” Ott (a pseudonym), he is in another category
altogether from White. Ott is a rabid Jew-hater who claims to be a
devout Christian. He claims Jesus was not a Jew and advocates for the
Holocaust deniers. He denounces Jews as “Edomites”. Unlike Tim
White, he is educated and a skilled writer. A writer of propaganda,
that is. Ott was a longtime crony of FBI chief Ted Gunderson, the
COINTELPRO Kingpin. Ott is not a crude, loudmouthed hothead like Tim
White, but has managed to pass himself off to large numbers of his
reading/listening audience as credible. Which makes him all the more
dangerous.

“I
don't think that's completely correct, i think these guys are all the
payroll and most likely making a lot of money for doing what they are
doing- there is a science behind how they are doing it as well, they
are certainly not your every day liars off the street.”

Well,
that would depend on what the “payroll” means. Anyone being used
by the intelligence agents is certainly getting some personal benefit
from their activities. It could be just staying out of prison. It
could be aggrandizing their egos. Many of these stooges are seeking
attention and approval which they can't get any other way. A
liar-for-hire will always receive something in return for his dirty
work. But with these particular individuals, especially Tim White and
Alex Studer (another rabid Jew-hater, a lackey of “True” Ott who
sells T-shirts proclaiming “NUKE ISRAEL”), I can guarantee
they're not raking in the cash as a result of their efforts against
decent, law-abiding citizens.

“Although
I fully agree with Barbara that these guys are - when it boils right
down to it that is, just a bunch of pathetic stooge's, - that is only
when they take off there disguise do we actually see that! These guys
are very well trained at what they do and have an exact science on
how to do it! That is why so many people including some very well
educated people do not figure out what is going on and who is
trustable and who is not.”

Has
the person writing this been targeted for criminal harassment,
libel/slander, stalking and death threats? Most assuredly not. How
would he know who or what these government minions are?

I've
been a Target of these characters for many years. There was never a
time when I did not see them for exactly who and what they are. He
assumes much and knows little.

He
also seems to believe that all of the perps fall into the same
category, when in fact they do not. Obviously, Ted Gunderson was well
trained, but most of his minions had no training at all –and it
shows.

There
is no “exact science” involved, even for intelligence agents who
are trained in various disciplines. I don't know where these ideas
come from, I can only refute them with the facts.

“No
from what I've read these guys are professional highly trained and
are on the payroll, and are very much a complete part of
COINTELPRO!!”

What
exactly has he “read”, and from what source(s)? He doesn't say.
The Internet is overflowing with false information, including
misinformation, disinformation and propaganda. That is a very
important part of the counterintelligence operations.

How
can he possibly determine what is true and what is not?

In
the case of people like Tim White and Alex Studer, for example, they
have no training whatsoever and are anything but professional. They
are G-Man wannabes, who want to seem “important” by claiming
“personal friendships” with bona fide government agents.

AS
IF that were something to boast about?

In
reality the agents are not their “friends”, but are only using
these characters, so the dirt won't rub off on them and they can
invoke “plausible deniability” for actions they have engineered
against Targets. Guaranteed, they are laughing at these stooges
behind their backs, while stroking their egos to their faces.

“Now
Barbara mention COINTELPRO'S end goal which is the absolute
destruction of the group, but she really didn't take anytime to
explain how they accomplish this goal.. I know the complete
destruction is the ultimate goal but how do they go about reaching
it?? But I guess she only had so much time and probably wanted to cut
to the chase instead of beating around the bush!”

Now
he has either misunderstood what I actually said, or he is putting
words in my mouth.

Although
I can't recall what my exact words were on that particular program, I
do know that if I was explaining the objectives of a
counterintelligence operation, I would be speaking about the goal of
destroying the life of an INDIVIDUAL Target, not a group.

COINTELPRO
certainly does target groups (examples from history: Black Panthers,
American Indian Movement, Animal Rights) but in my case, as well as
certain other Targets I have known, there was no “group”
involved.

As
for how the perps accomplish the goal of destruction of a Target's
life, I would refer the readers to my reports on this site, which
give an overview of the operations, and also those which provide
details. That is beyond the scope of this report.

“Anyway
I did like the rest of barbara had to say, I just slightly suspicious
when she said these guys are not on the payroll and there for are
just a bunch of nut jobs.. I don't believe that's correct, I thought
seeing how she her self is an ex-member of the group that she would
be a little more knowledgeable in this area!!”

Now,
here is a totally false statement. He says I am “an ex-member of
the group”. Where he got such an utterly ridiculous idea, I've no
clue.

I
have never, at any time, been a “member” of any “group” that
included these government stooges and minions, nor any of their ilk.
I have never participated in harassing, stalking or libeling people.
Nor have I ever made such a statement, to anyone, privately, nor
publicly.

I
worked with the late FBI chief Ted Gunderson from 1997-2000, as a
professional colleague. When I discovered that
Gunderson was involved in criminal activities (past and, at the time,
current), I broke off my association with him. I had already been
targeted by CIA (naturally) when I left the operations. But once I
began to expose Gunderson and his cronies, I became the Target of
even more intense persecution, with extreme prejudice. Retaliation
against a whistleblower.

For
the record: I am a former CIA agent, unlike any of the individuals
mentioned here. I defected from CIA in 1994 and became a
whistleblower. I worked in psychological operations and
counterintelligence, which bore no resemblance to anything I spoke
about on that radio program.

The
issue I was addressing was COINTELPRO, and the current operations
against Targets and I was exposing information about some of the
government minions and stooges who do the dirty work for the
government. There is a big difference between an intelligence agent
(such as Ted Gunderson) and those they exploit for their own agenda.

“P.S
I'm not saying I think Barbara was lying about anything she was say,
it just sounded to me like she was so irate and irritated with the
whole group of COINTELPRO misfits that she would perhaps not want to
believe that these psychos actaully get paid money to do what they
do???”

Again,
he is speaking from ignorance. I know exactly what I am talking
about, whereas he does not. He keeps harping on being “paid money”,
when that is not the issue.

My
information is based on facts, backed by solid evidence and
documentation. There is no speculation involved, no unwarranted
assumptions, no conjecture.

I
certainly hope this sets the record straight. And I hope it serves to
clarify issues which cannot possibly be understood merely from
reading or listening to a few “sources” which are at best,
questionable, and at worst, based on a nefarious agenda.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

“The
assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our
treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively
outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal
compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”

--Arthur
Schopenhauer

RESCUE
STORIES

In
this second article of the series, the focus will be on the rescue of
animals from unfortunate (or dangerous) circumstances, where acts of compassion and
love saved a life, gave them a better life and a good home.

It
wasn't until I received some photos of the animals featured here
from my sister and discussed them with her that I recalled that each
of them had been a rescue story, of one kind or another. Some of the
animals I have known; others I hadn't the chance to meet, due to
geographical separation between me and my sister for a period of many
years.

My
sister Irene loves animals, as I do. She is an advocate who has
worked to rescue animals and find homes for those who languish in
shelters, and has adopted many animals throughout her life.

Irene
lives in North Carolina and now has three companion animals, Mina
(Irish Jack Russell terrier), Stro and Weasle (cats).

I'll
start with a few stories of animals she has rescued and adopted.

Irene's Cats Malvolio, Beanie & Rahab

NEIGHBORHOOD
WATCH

Beanie

Beanie
was a cat rescued by Irene. She and a friend were out one day
bicycling near a reservoir when they saw a tiny kitten struggling at
the edge of the water. He was soaking wet, his fur sticking up in
spikes. My sister said he was “as skinny as a beanpole” which
was the reason he got the name.

Irene
heard the voices of some men nearby, and saw 2 men walking away into
the woods. She thought it was probable that Beanie was thrown into
the water to drown. But when she found him, he had somehow managed to
make his way nearly out. All she had to do was pull him up and dry
him off.

Irene
adopted him and gave him a home, where he was loved by all who knew
him.

Beanie
was very sociable. He made a habit of rising with the sun, going
outside every day around 6 AM. (Which meant Irene had to set the
alarm clock to let him out. I must say, that would be too much, at
least for me.)

In
the yard, he would conduct his daily neighborhood watch, to greet
various neighbors, all of whom were friendly to him. Each neighbor
told Irene that he/she felt there was a special personal relationship
with Beanie.

But
one neighbor turned out to be unscrupulous. When Beanie was 2 years
old, he was abducted by one of his “admirers”. He had told my
sister that he believed the cat really wanted to live with him. He
told Irene that he would be moving away from the area and asked if he
could take Beanie with him. Of course, my sister said no. She loved
him, and he already had a good home, where he had relationships with
2 other cats, Malvolio and Rahab.

But
the neighbor disregarded Irene's answer and took matters into his own
hands. He simply absconded with the cat and Irene never saw Beanie
again. As Irene stated, the day the neighbor moved, Beanie
disappeared.

The
way I saw it was that although he had insisted that he “loved”
Beanie, that was no excuse for what he did. If you really love an
animal, your first priority would be HIS wellbeing and happiness,
rather than getting what you want, at the expense of others. The same
holds true for human beings, but animals, like children, most often
have no power to make the choices which would best serve their own
interests. And although they do “speak” it is not in a language
that most people understand. Or maybe, they're just not listening.

Uprooting
Beanie from his real home was not “love”. Disregarding Beanie's
feelings (making unwarranted assumptions) was not “love”. And
breaking Irene's heart by stealing a member of her family was not
“love”.

To
anyone who truly loves animals, once adopted, they are family. An
adoption of an animal should be for a lifetime –till death do we
part. And that certainly was the intention, as far as Irene was
concerned.

Irene
told me she hoped Beanie had a good life, that was the most important
thing to her. I hope so too, but I know I could not be as charitable
in my sentiments about a person who stole a piece of my heart.

THE
LIONHEART

Malvolio

Irene
once worked at a residential home for boys, from which she rescued
Malvolio as a kitten.

I
don't think I need to go into detail about the way emotionally
damaged adolescents can treat an animal. Malvolio was most likely
“dumped” there by irresponsible people and left to fend for
himself.

I
knew and loved Malvolio, who lived to be 16. He had the heart of a
lion and was a courageous protector of the young (including his own)
and defenseless.

In
future articles there will be photos and stories of Malvolio's
friends and relatives, Shulamith, Shulamite and Euphrates (all of
whom I adopted).

THE
CHOSEN

Weasle

Shortly
after Malvolio passed away, Irene adopted Weasle from an “animal
control” shelter. She told me that Weasle chose her by reaching out
her paw and hooking her claws into her sleeve as she passed by the
cages.

Irene
could not ignore the summons. She took Weasle home that day.

The
amazing thing about Weasle is that she was adopted in 1997, at which
time she was full grown (age unknown) and so must now be over 20
years old.

I
remember reading something about the oldest known living cats, one
setting the record at age 26.

The
oldest cat I ever had was Aphrodite, who lived to be 18. But that's a
story for another time.

FREE
AT LAST

Mina

Irene
adopted Mina from a breeder. It was not a puppy mill, but Mina was
kept for the first 5 years of her life in an outdoor pen.

Mina
didn't have the chance to run free, and never had a loving home until
she was rescued by Irene.

Mina's
favorite activities are going for walks in the park, and riding in
the car. She especially enjoys the walks where she can meet and greet
other dogs, some of whom she has got to know, as they are 'regulars'
at the parks.

I've
never had the chance to meet Mina (though I hope to), but I've talked
to her on the phone many times and she is in my prayers every night.

Mina, enjoying a ride on the way to the park

THE
USURPER

Stro

One
morning Irene heard the sound of a piteous mewing outside the window.
So she went out and searched for the source. The cries were coming
from beneath her car. There on the ground was a small kitten, whom
she was able to identify as a Russian blue. It took some time and
coaxing, but Irene managed to get Stro to come out from under the
car. She offered food, and placed a blanket out.

It
took a few days for Stro to make herself at home. When she first came into
the house, she was hiding, but always came out when dinner was on the
table. (Nobody can hide like a cat, as I've learned to my dismay on
countless occasions.)

But
once Stro settled in, she more or less took over and commanded the
attention and homage she craved, and which she'd absolutely no doubt to which she was entitled. She usurped the best spots for
lounging, the most comfortable beds for naps, and even the food
served to the others in the home. Long live the Queen!

Irene (left) with Mina at The Blessing of the Animals

We
must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we
treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity
does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty
to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of
compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.